1. Field of the Description
The present description relates, in general, to light-based displays for providing unique visual effects to viewers or observers of the displays (herein, “display” is used in a broad sense to include multiple surfaces and objects upon which light is projected or directed from one or more light sources and is not used to describe a more limited display element such as a computer or television monitor), and, more particularly, to display systems (and methods) adapted to blend multiple (e.g., two or more) types of light on light-blending surfaces of display objects, such as set or scene props, elements, or features, to create a visually appealing display. For example, a display system may be provided that is adapted to uniquely blend white light and black light to achieve desired imagery in a set along a path of an amusement or theme park ride.
2. Relevant Background.
There are many settings where it is desirable to provide viewers with a variety of visual imagery to entertain and excite the viewers. For example, theme and amusement park operators often will design spaces along ride paths and other park spaces to include interesting visual displays that may be themed to correspond with the ride or nearby park exhibits. Often, it is desirable to provide “eye-popping” or dramatic displays that leave the viewers wondering how the visual effect was achieved.
Some unique displays are created by using a combination of white or visible light and black or ultraviolet (UV) light to illuminate a scene. Combining these two types of light, though, can be challenging. One problem is how to successfully blending projected dynamic media (e.g., color animation or movies), which is provided with visible or white light, into a black light scene, which is visible due to use of black or UV light. This is problematic because there are often color and design restraints that create a complicated work flow (e.g., equating to more time being required by the media designer) and that create large creative limitations that constrain what types of visual effects can be achieved.
For many display designers, the use of projected media is one of the most useful tools available for creating illusions and interesting displays and themed environments. For example, inserting projected media (e.g., animation and movies onto nearby surfaces and objects) into traditional dark rides at an amusement park can result in amazing and surprising results. However, problems with blending white light media with existing black light sets or environments has limited and constrained many uses of white light media within black light sets (e.g., painted, printed, or themed sets that are typically designed to provide a static pattern, which is the surface pattern that must be balanced/overcome when light such as video imagery is projected upon the set surfaces). As one example, white light can easily overcome or overwhelm imagery achieved using black light such that to “blend” the two lights there has to be significant effort to map projection of media within the black light set to avoid simply losing all or most of the black light effects.
When projecting media using white light (i.e., visible light) in a typical projection environment, it is generally desirable to have a screen surface that reflects all of the visible spectrum color back to the viewer's eyes with as much richness, brightness, and contrast as possible to create a high quality image. In a theater setting, for example, a member of the audience is in a fixed location with a fixed point of view (POV), and the theater designers and operators can control visible ambient light levels and design the screen surface (and its material(s)) to perform as desired to produce a particular image quality. The formulas and design rules governing the theater environment are relatively straightforward to follow and implement as most design variable all exist within a single bandwidth of light.
In contrast, the formulas and design rules differ drastically for a black light scene. While white light is reflected to a viewer, black light acts to excite materials of surfaces painted with black light or UV paint to cause these materials to emanate or produce light, which may be nearly any color, that is visible to the viewer. In many cases, a black light scene is fabricated by painting or printing a static media onto a surface. The surface may be prepped with an underlying base coat of fifty percent visible light or white paint and fifty percent UV light or white fluorescing paint. This is done to create a surface that, in addition to being excited by black or UV light, reflects all of the color back to the eye with as much richness, brightness, and contrast as possible to create a high quality image.
Such UV painting is useful for producing vibrantly color surfaces, but the patterns or surfaces are static unless the painted object itself moves within the black light scene. Video projection can be used within conventional black light scenes and can be mapped to the painted patterns so as to come close to the UV paint, but it must be aligned very carefully with adjacent projection surfaces (without UV paint) to avoid overwhelming the UV-excited patterns. Such alignment of the projector with projection surfaces is difficult to achieve and then maintain in many cases. For example, the black light scene may include objects with irregularly shaped and often small or narrow surfaces such as foliage, flowers, and so on, and the objects in the black light scene may move during the projection of the media such as in response to air movement (e.g., heating and ventilation may cause air to flow over and move set objects about over time). It can be very difficult to achieve proper mapping of the white light media projected onto such objects when they are all static and nearly impossible once the objects begin to move even a small amount.
There is a continuing desire to use multiple light types in a single or common scene. Often, a display designer will request that white light be used to project video or other media into a scene that includes UV paint that is excited by a UV or black light projector so as to obtain the unique character and quality of each of these types of light (or light systems). Combining UV static imagery and white light video projection would seem to provide the best of both worlds (or light systems), but these two light systems are incompatible in many ways.
Visible light projection benefits from a light background or projection surface (e.g., a white surface) that reflects light back to the viewer, and contrast is enhanced by use of sharp and, often, black edges. UV light systems are based on emission of fluorescent particles from materials excited by UV light, and, hence, black light scenes do not benefit from light being reflected from backgrounds such that black or UV painted objects typically look best (i.e., with highest contrast) with dark black and light-absorbing backgrounds. Due to the contrasting qualities of these two light systems, there remains a need for an improved system for blending UV and white light systems together or of generating a display concurrently using white light to project media and UV light to create UV-based imagery on nearby surfaces.